Monday, October 1, 2012

Wedding! Wedding! Wedding!

Hi All,

So I know I have been MIA from blogging lately but its because I had news that I just couldn't share with you yet. But now that we have announced it, I can say it - we are getting married! Most of you already know this because its all over facebook so its not really news to you. But now I can blog about the planning process and the stress that comes with it (happy stress all the way though).

We have decided to get married in 6 months. 180 days from today to be exact. March 30, 2013. Why are we getting married so soon you might ask? There is a perfectly logical explanation: we don't want to get married in the summer ($$$ and too hot here in the Atlanta area), we can't get married in the fall (college football anyone?!), and we certainly don't want to wait until Spring of 2014 (we've been together for 3 years so we don't need a getting to know you stage built in to the engagement). So Spring of 2013 it is. And we found that we can just squeeze in cheaper prices a bit by staying in March so 3/30 it is. Easter weekend no less so it'll bring the family together for sure.

So after narrowing down the time frame, we knew we had to hit the ground running. So off to site visits we went. To be honest, we only went to 2 official visits. We received a lot of email information from various sites though. We knew going in to it approximately where we wanted to have the ceremony/reception. Canton St in Roswell is not only beautiful up and down the street but it has many different venues in the surrounding area. After going to one site, we ventured to the one we absolutely loved. Founders Hall. Not only was it beautiful inside and out but the lady we'll be working with is just so very pleasant and nice that I know we are in good hands. It especially helped that we had my future in laws with us because they knew just what questions to ask and they absolutely loved the place too. So we officially booked an evening wedding at Founders Hall.

After that, G's dad hit the ground running with the rehearsal dinner after finding out what we were thinking- a laid back casual affair that included bbq somehow. There is a perfect little spot right near Founder's Hall named The Yellow House. It is a joint venture of two co-owned restaurants within walking distance (Swallow at the Hallow for bbq and Greenwoods for chicken). You can have items from both restaurants which is fantastic and its a beautiful venue. G's dad and his wife went to check it out and sent us pictures. Its so cute and lovely inside and we know the food is perfect. So mark that one off the list too.

After we got the venues set up, we made our to do list. And let me tell you, its a doozie of a list. Slowly but surely we'll get it done. We almost have the hotel blocks firmed up (Doubletree in Roswell and hopefully Holiday Inn in Roswell) and we finished our registries this weekend (the most fun ever). If you want to get a head start (cough, cough), we are registered at Macys, Crate & Barrel and Target... Just kidding on the head start. But if you want to see them, they are available for public view already. Crate & Barrel has an open house soon so we'll hit that up for free food/drinks even if our registry is pretty much done there.

So I feel like we've accomplished a lot so far. But we still have a list that keeps growing. We already went to the caterer's open house (no worries there, the food was amazing) and have a meeting set up to discuss our food selections. The biggest item on our list that needs to get done is firming up the invite list, getting addresses and sending out Save the Dates.

I'm definitely enjoying the ride though even if it is exhausting.

Until next time,

Christina

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Why Social Media is Awesome...

Hello All,

I wish I had a better title than that, but I'm not that creative. Anyways, I have just realized why social media was created. They say its to keep in touch with others (blah blah blah) but in reality they created it for people like me. People who need distractions or something to do at work. Yep you heard right, its to give us worker bees something to pass the time when there is no actual work to be done. I promise, I finished everything on my desk by 9am this morning. Needless to say I'm bored. But yes, before you get on me -  I know I'm lucky to get paid to play on the internet. There are many people out there looking for work as we speak. So in reality, I'm not complaining. And this is coming from someone who recently worked retail and was on my feet all day dealing with rude customers, I am sooo not trying to complain. So thank you Facebook and Twitter for keeping me occupied today. Thank you to the following websites for keeping me entertained and at times trying to figure out a way to laugh quietly at my desk: People Magazine and most importantly, People of Walmart. Pinterest got blocked a few weeks ago so I lost that one. Oh well, I'm sure its only a matter of time before all of these others get blocked. Now if I could just get a faster computer with up to date software, it would make playing on the internet so much better.

Until next time, you can find me on facebook or twitter if you need a comrade to keep yourself busy during the day. Because I can't possibly be the only one not busy at work, right?

Christina

Thursday, September 6, 2012

When Did it Become September Already?

Hi All,

Did you know it was already September? When did I blink and the year is almost over? The days just keep getting faster don't they.

But hey, now that its September, do you know what that means? Yep, you guessed it (well, if you live in the south you guessed it, if you are in the north - it could mean a bunch of things)... College Football! Yes sir (or ma'am), college football craziness has hit my apartment (I mean, I'm pretty sure G was salivating when August 1 hit because it meant UGA football was almost back). And now that the season has officially started (we went to the home opener last Saturday), I have to pull out my red and black. Fun side note (for all you northern followers), did you know that you are supposed to dress up for football games?! I mean, yes - I have had 2.5 years to get used to it but it still surprises me. So being that its a new season, I went shopping as I needed more red and black dressy options. My wardrobe consisted of 1 red dress and 1 black dress and thats it. Macy's had a bunch of options but I just wasn't impressed with the way they looked on. But leave it to G to find me some dresses. I swear that boy is better at clothes shopping than I am. We were walking by this boutique in the mall when I stopped to gaze at a UGA picture frame and he saw a "game colors clothing" sign. We walked in. I found two dresses (1 all red, and 1 red/black combo) in the first minute and they fit perfectly and were comfortable. Score! And let me tell you, with how hot it gets down here (last saturday's game was miserably hot), comfort is the name of the game. I'll be able to breath in these dresses. So yay for fall and dressing up for college football- it gave me a reason to go shopping! And if I can hope for one thing to happen this football season, its that UGA has a good year and lives up to the expectations. It'll make my fall so much better!

Other than college football starting, nothing else exciting down here. The cats are finally getting healthy (crossing my fingers it stays that way). They have become quite the Nascar kitties lately (now that we can let them out into the apartment).Be careful where you step because you might get tripped by a kitten on the run. They seriously bring smiles to our faces every day, even though they are a lot of work and a lot of $$ thanks to extra vet visits. We laugh daily playing with them.

Here's to an exciting fall. Who thinks I can convince G to take me to a pumpkin patch again? Or Helen's Oktoberfest? Anybody? Yeah, I might be grasping for straws on those.

Until next time,

Christina

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Remember That Time I was Locked Out of My Apt?

Hello All,

I wish yesterday was Monday for the simple fact that I could chalk it up to a case of the Mondays. But unfortunately it was not and I couldn't really say "oh well, its because it had a case of the Tuesdays". That's not a thing. So anyways, I'm minding my own business, walking to my apartment after getting home from work yesterday. I put the key in the door and........"nothing". No unlocking occurred. I jiggled the door, the key and tried to use more muscle strength and........."nothing". I mean really, I'm locked out of my apartment. And G's still at work so he couldn't have locked the top lock. And when I say "nothing" I mean nothing was happening- you couldn't hear a lock moving at all. So I called the leasing office. Who first thought it was the key but I was like, "I think maintenance needs to come because the lock has been acting strange lately". So the maintenance guy comes with the master key (like thats going to help but thanks for trying). Again, "nothing". He tries lodging a screw driver in the door to help and still nada. At this point, G left work a few minutes early and comes strolling up and is all "let me try". Sure go ahead and use your muscly strength and open the door because the maintenance guy couldn't even open it using tools. So he tried. I'm not sure what he was expecting to happen but what I expected did happen- nothing.

At this point, I've been home for like 45 minutes with no end in sight. The mainentance supervisor comes over with a ladder. They decide to unlock the balcony door. BUT there is a privacy lock on that one too and of course we keep that locked when we are out. Who doesn't? Yes I know we live on the 2nd floor but still, if there is an extra lock of security, we use it. They ask for the screwdriver so G throws it up. And about 5-10  minutes later, they BREAK INTO OUR APARTMENT. Seriously, they had to practically bust open the balcony door to get in. And the only way the could let us in was by completely removing the lock on the front door.

I couldn't make this up even if I tried. Seriously, our apartment complex had to break into our apartment to let us in. Naturally, they replaced the lock on our main door and promised to return to fix the balcony door. We wanted to make sure that didn't come back on us when we decide to move out. The maintenance guy assured us it would not as they are the ones to do the walk through. Ok sure buddy. Now that I think about it, I should have gotten that in writing.

Oh well, at least its kind of a funny story to tell about how G and I were locked out of our apartment and had to break into it to get in.

Ahh life.

Until next time,

Christina

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Cooking Disaster Part 2

Hello All,

I've decided I should probably break up with cooking. Cooking and I have an extremely love hate relationship right now. More towards the hate portion but whatever. Maybe I'll love it again soon. Anyways, so after my oh so delicious garlic-brown suger chicken (oh wait, nope it wasn't "oh so delicious, now was it?!) debacle, I thought I would try round 2 of recipe following. I tried Orange Chicken in the crockpot (the recipe can be found here). Where to begin- it tasted like orange juice with a little bit of chicken. Maybe I put to much OJ concentrate in but it tasted like FREAKING OJ (HOT OJ no less) with a little bit of chicken. Don't even get me started about the peppers and carrots I cut up and put it in there. I think I almost gagged.

In any event, there was a stop at McDonalds afterwards. Comfort food was definitely needed. I'm just so thankful that he attempted to eat it - more than me thats for sure. And pointed out the positives (the chicken was juicy and tender).

But I think its high time I get cooking lessons. Otherwise we'll just have to live at McDonalds. Or Wendy's, Taco Bell... well you get the picture.

Who want's to give me cooking lessons? Need a christmas idea for me- COOKING LESSONS!!! Otherwise, we will be 400 pounds living off of fast food.

Because this cook in training wants to give up. In better news, Stouffer's Family Entrees are on sale at Publix today and Publix has a coupon to go with it. Lasagna or Chicken/Broccoli Bake is on the menu for tonight. I can't screw up a box meal, am I right? Right?

I hope to have just 1 successful cooking post in my future. I await your cooking recommendations/offer of cooking lessons/gift certificates for cooking classes. I'm not picky.

Until next time,

Christina

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

I Warned Him I wasn't a Chef

Hello All,

I had a pretty memorable experience in the kitchen last Friday night in my attempt to be Suzy Homemaker for the boy. When I say memorable, I mean memorable in a bad way. He was so nice in saying it wasn't so bad but that he was just going to make some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because he was still hungry. Our apartment smelled like garlic for a few days.

Anyways, lets start from the beginning. I joined Pinterest a few months ago and at first wasn't impressed. Then work got slow so I started poking around and got hooked. I want to write a whole Pinterest post about the different crafts I want to try so this is my Pinterest cooking post. A side note, my work decided to block Pinterest this week so I can't link to my Pinterest so I'll be linking to original blog posts/sources for recipes.

So a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon this blog titled Life in Yellow which you can see here. She has this Menu Planner sheet (found here) which allows you to write down a few recipes to take to the grocery store. So I implemented it. I like it for its simplicity and ease of use.

What did I do next, I scoured Pinterest for different recipes I pinned. Which led me to this Easy Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken (found here) and Zucchini boats (found here at another interesting blog you should check out here especially if you want healthier meal options). The chicken had very little ingredients which is what I like about cooking and it stated it wouldn't take that long to prep or cook. Sold. Or so I thought. Has anyone minced garlic before? Well I sure haven't. It was a mess. Between the chicken and the zucchini boats, I was mincing 6 cloves of garlic. 6?!?!?! I learned for the last 2 to just throw them in the Magic Bullet. But still, I will not use 4 cloves of garlic again on this chicken. Nor will I cook it at 500 degrees which it calls for. My bad for not reading through more of the comments to learn this little nugget of information until afterwards. Because when the chicken came out the brown suger had burnt and wasn't as sweet as I wanted. The chicken was cooked which was good but the seasoning/marinade (whatever you want to call the garlic and brown suger) was yuck. And after so much garlic, the zucchini boats felt like they were swimming in garlic.

All in all, I dont think I'll try the chicken again. I'll look for another brown sugar recipe because I did like the hint of sugar taste (surprisingly). I will try the zucchini boats again for sure but without any garlic at all. I'm not a huge garlic fan to begin with but I want to try recipes as close to the original post as possible when first testing them. So here's to a crash and burn on a Friday night of cooking.

Hey, at least I warned the boy in the beginning that I wasn't a cook. And at least I'm trying. An A for effort.

Tonight is Slow Cooker Phillys (again found on Pinterest originally but originally posted on 5 dinners 1 hour found here). We've already tried this blogs Chili Cheese Coneys (found here) and they were successful (except for a request of no relish next time). Seriously if you have any free time and like easy cooking, check this blog out (5 dinners 1 hour). You can subscribe to her menu plan (which I don't yet) or you can just check out all the easy recipes she posts to her blog for free (definitely for me).

Wish me luck on the Phillys (they are slowly cooking as we speak)....

Until next time,

Christina

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Ramblings- Or the Jumbled Thoughts of Christina

Hello All,

Its another day in the life of Christina over here. Can you believe its already August? Jeez, the time is flying. Anyways, its been busy over here in Christina land. A trip to Orlando (Disney World and Universal) over July 4 with Grant, Preston and Lauren. Let me tell you- two Mintz brothers and 1 vacation... Lauren and I deserve medals I tell you. It was a blast and I plan on posting a whole blog with pictures (there's a few on facebook now I think). Highlight of the trip - HARRY POTTER WORLD! Yes, I finally made it to Harry Potter World. If I could live there I would, it was that awesome.

In other news, my mother is doing much better. She moved up to Virginia Beach to be closer to relatives (both her brother and sister live up there still with there respective families). There have been no more side effects lately or emergency trips to the hospital. Thankfully. Grant and I were able to get up to Virginia Beach a few weekends ago to visit her and to make sure she was all settled in. It was really good to see her.

Speaking of Virginia Beach, Grant finally made it there for a trip. 3 years later! Ha. We had a very quick trip as we drove and didn't have any time off around the weekend. Our primary agenda was to visit with my mom, reconnect with her side of the family and meet baby Callie. To put it mildly, we were exhausted by the time we got home. But it was worth every minute. We were able to visit with my grandma and have lunch with her and we were able to have lunch with the Smeads before we left too. It was so much fun and I got to hold Callie over and over again. As well as hand her off to her daddy when she needed a diaper change (Aunt Chrissy is still not on diaper duty). Mackenzie taught Grant how to play field hockey in the living room (I think Katy was too tired to fight that fight- the whole sports in the house thing). They didn't break a thing and Grant learned that you can't win against an 8 year old because the rules always change to her liking- haha.

And finally to round up this rambling post, our cats had a wellness visit as soon as we got back from Va Beach. It was supposed to be the day before we left but lets just say my car decided to crap out on me and request its very own new battery (thank you goes to the Ford Motor Company though who sent someone to my house to jump start my car for free so I could get to work). Thanks also go to Advanced Auto Parts for testing my battery and replacing it in the blazing hot summer heat. And I guess I should thank my car for crapping out the day before vacation instead of ON vacation. That was lucky.

Anyways, back to the cats. Where to begin. We thought it was a good idea to get two cats so they always have a friend to keep them company. But did you know if you have a sick cat, you have to treat BOTH cats (especially kittens) all the time. Yeah, didn't see that one coming. We noticed Pickles had been sneezing a lot (we thought maybe allergies) but the Vet decided to treat him for a cold (gave him an antibiotic at the office) and gave us a gel to put on their noses. Penny loves this medicine and comes back for more while Pickles cowers in a corner. On top of the cold, they found Pickles has a parasite. So we got the pleasure of trying to hold two kittens down for 6 days trying to give them this oral medicine (a little vial you squirt in their mouth). Yep that happened. And it made a mess a lot of the times. Until we employed the "wrap the kitten up in a towel" method that is. That at least minimized the mess. Oh did I forget to mention that it doesn't end here. Yep no dice. We noticed a small rough patch next to Pickles eye before the vet visit so we figured we should mention it to the Vet. It could be a variety of things but they wanted to test for Ringworm just to be safe. Lets just say we knew it was that before the results even came back because another spot showed up on his leg. Yes Pickles not only still has a cold, just got off a parasite (I hope) and now we are dealing with Ringworm. Which is apparently a 30 day vial treatment program for BOTH CATS. I mean really, we barely survived 6 days of a vial treatment. Now we have a 30 day medicine. Still waiting for that to arrive so I'll let you know how it goes. However, throughout all of this everything has been covered by the Humane Society or that 30 day pet insurance that is complimentary. One of the two. We have been very lucky that the costs have been zero so far. I just hope they get healthy because this mama is miserable seeing two unhappy cats because they have to be quarantined (in the bathroom) until the medicine comes in.

See what I mean, ramblings I tell you. I think I just had one of those mind dump things. I feel better. How about you? Next time I'll tell you about some of the lovely ideas I have gotten from Pinterest and have actually attempted to implement. I'm addicted to that site right now. Addicted I tell you.

That's all for now, I promise.

Until next time,

Christina